IVDSO: HELP! I'm planning dinner for 60!

[tn20]

I second (or third, or whatever!) the idea of contacting local grocery stores to see what is available in your area.

I know several stores in my area will do a Holiday dinner with your choice of turkey, ham, or roast beef with several sides, rolls, and pie- enough to feed 8 people for $49.99-$59.99. So that is $6.25-$7.50 per person, leaving over half of your budget to get everything else needed.

I just think that this would be the best option. Every year I get in and make Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners with my grandma, mom, and sister, for between 20 and 40 people, depending on who's coming that year. We have 5 ovens, 3 microwaves, and 3 full kitchens to work in (they live next door to each other), and we still are running around, half crazed, trying to get everything done.

I seriously hate to even imagine what it would be like to cook for 60, by myself, with no kitchen.

[NIGHTB1022]

Most Pizza Huts cater, if theres one in your area go for it. I think it's kinda crappy they put that on you, I have done catering and I am here to tell you that you shouldn't have to do it yourself, have a potluck or try to undercut the price the VFW charges in the past.

If thats what they want you to do, order pizza, pasta and salad and call it good. That's about the cheapest you are going to get it is Pizza Hut.

[Arie]

Thank you everyone who has offered ideas so far! I was out of the area/office Fri and most of today, so I will call the local grocery stores on Monday.

That will be my first step!

[tbbucs03]

Bar B Q would probably go over great since it is all men. In the grocery stores they sell tubs of bbq meats that just need to be heated like in a crock pot. Serve with hamburger buns on the side so they can make sandwiches. Also serve with baked beans again in crock pots. Cole slaw is a very easy side to make and goes well with BBQ. Rental places rent out the serving trays and sterno to also keep the items hot.
I wish I lived closer to lend you a hand.I love planning parties and have done catering jobs in the past 15 years. You may feel overwhelmed but you will be just fiine.

[taylordvd]

I just want to say to make sure you have alot extra of the sides. That will make the main entrees really stretch! So, maybe you want double the rolls that you think you need and twice as many desserts. Remember that this is going to be seen as a buffet by all the men at work and if they aren't going to get a bonus, they are going to want to eat twice as much as they normally would. So, you will need more than 60 servings (or service for 60)! Salads would be a great thing you could probably buy in bulk.

[Arie]

Hi All -

Just an update. First - thank you all for your wonderful ideas and your supportive suggestions. I'm past the panic attack stage and now starting to organize.

To cut costs, I am going to make the salads myself. I'll go out and get fresh everything and package it all up into big salad bowls (I have a kazillion chinet - my boss can just pay me for them lol).

I have some calls in to the local super markets, and I'm also talking with "Honey Baked Ham" which is a store that specializes in catering for the holidays. The CSM there told me that if I'm only looking for a ham for 30 and a turkey for 30 (that way they can each pick one or the other) and nothing else - I should get a 'bare bottomed price'. She still has not said what the price is though.

I'm also going to stock up on double the rolls (thanks Taylordvd!) from a local bakery. I figure I'll go with a bakery because mom and pop shops could really use the money around here, and they're willing to butter them and wrap them individually for .30 cents more per person than if I just bought them packaged myself.

The tentative menu so far is:

Ham or Turkey
Salad with the fixins
Buttered bakery rolls
Mashed potatos (still haven't figured this part out yet)
4 big trays of cookies
10 pies
(haven't figured out the baking yet either)
Canned cranberry sauce

The soda pop I'll get at the store, and I'll also have some bottled water available too.

So - taking that into consideration - how's it look so far? Thoughts, suggestions, comments?

[Arie]

and on a side note - my bf said I should get everyone Turkey TV Dinners. Heh - so much for him being helpful eh?

[irishsaver]

Your menu look good. I woud suggest however for transport with and storage with the salad to put into lots of ziploc bags once made. then just pour into the bowl always works for me on tight spaces.

With the potatoes I would suggest cooking and putting in tin pans over sternos and dont forget the water in the tray. Perhaps a fresh vegetable ?

Sounds good you have come a long way.

PS at my work a couple of prizes went a long way. Maybe a few gift cards and spot prize them. Just a thought people love that. Perhaps use time card # or just put in everyones name exclude mgmt as its more fun for the staff to win...

[Arie]

Irish - my problem with mashed potatoes is that I destroy them every time I try to make them. Seriously. Last Christmas (at home) we ate wall paper paste potatoes. It was horrible.

Think I can scrounge up enough Q's to get a whole slew of the betty crocker potato buds? LOL.

I totally forgot about the veggies. Do I have to make them, or can I just buy canned ya think? I'd probably have to go with corn and green beans (that's what we usually have with the dinners here)

For the gift cards - I'm thinking some sort of prizes would be fun too. I did manage to sneak a gift card give away into the budget this month for Thanksgiving. I'm going to get 5 $25 dollar GC to the local grocery stores. I know it's not enough to get everyone overly excited, but it's better than nothing I suppose....

It's hard to keep the spirits up when everyone knows what's coming around the corner, ya know :(

[rtnrjk]

crockpot lasagna